pi-codex-image-tool

Pi extension that exposes a codex_image wrapper tool for gpt-5.5+ models. The wrapper lets Pi ask Codex/GPT-5.5 to use its native hosted image-generation capability and save the streamed image bytes to disk.

GitHub link: https://github.com/ross-jill-ws/pi-codex-image-tool

Why this exists

GPT-5.5+ can generate images through its own API-side hosted tool. This is not a normal Pi function tool named generate_image; the request must include OpenAI/Codex's native tool shape:

{
  "tools": [
    {
      "type": "image_generation",
      "model": "gpt-image-2",
      "size": "1024x1024"
    }
  ],
  "tool_choice": { "type": "image_generation" }
}

This extension registers a Pi wrapper tool named codex_image. When GPT-5.5 calls that wrapper, the wrapper sends a separate request to the current GPT-5.5/Codex model using only the native image_generation hosted tool above, parses the streamed response, and writes the image to disk.

Authentication: no OPENAI_API_KEY required

You do not need to set OPENAI_API_KEY for this extension if you already use Pi with a Codex/ChatGPT subscription.

As long as your current Pi model is gpt-5.5 or another matching gpt-5.x model where x >= 5, the extension uses Pi's existing model auth/session. In other words, your existing Codex subscription is enough.

Usage

Switch Pi to a matching model such as gpt-5.5, then ask naturally:

Generate an image of an orange cat sitting by a window

If you have other image tools installed, such as Nano Banana, be explicit:

Generate an image of an orange cat sitting by a window using codex_image tool

You can also specify a save location:

Generate an image of a panda using codex_image tool and save it to ./panda-images

Image size

Mention the image size in the prompt with widthxheight, for example:

Generate an image of a futuristic city using codex_image tool at 1024x1536

Size notes:

• One dimension must be larger than 1024.
• Both width and height must be multiples of 16.
• Examples: 1024x1536, 1536x1024, 1088x1440.

Examples

Tool result in Pi:

Generated image:

Pi Package Info

This repository is a Pi package. Its package.json contains:

• keywords: ["pi-package", ...] for Pi package discoverability
• peerDependencies for Pi-provided runtime packages
• a pi.extensions manifest pointing to extensions/index.ts

{
  "pi": {
    "extensions": ["extensions/index.ts"]
  }
}

Extension behavior

codex_image tool

The extension exposes the codex_image Pi wrapper tool only when Pi's current model matches gpt-5.x with x >= 5 (for example gpt-5.5 or gpt-5.10). It syncs this on session start and whenever the user switches models. For any other model, the wrapper is removed from the active tool list so it does not appear in the LLM prompt.

The OpenAI/Codex API request does not define a generate_image function tool. It only sends the native hosted image tool as type: "image_generation".

Tool parameters:

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description | |---|---:|---:|---| | prompt | string | yes | Detailed prompt describing the image to generate | | size | enum | yes | Image size requested from gpt-image-2 | | target-path | string | yes | Directory where streamed image data is saved. Defaults to /tmp/pi-codex-image-tool |

Fixed API tool settings:

• type: image_generation
• model: gpt-image-2

The extension parses streamed SSE data: events, including partial_image_b64 / result image payloads, and saves the first image payload to target-path as soon as it arrives. The generated image is also returned inline to Pi.

Install / Use Locally

From this repository:

bun install
pi -e .

Or install it globally from npm:

pi install npm:pi-codex-image-tool

For project-local installation in another repo, run:

pi install -l npm:pi-codex-image-tool

Verify

Start Pi with the extension loaded, switch to a matching model such as gpt-5.5, then prompt:

Generate an image of a tiny robot painting a sunset using codex_image tool at 1024x1536 and save it under /tmp/pi-images

The agent should call codex_image, then return the generated image and saved file path.

Development

This scaffold was initialized with Bun:

bun init -y

Useful commands:

bun install
bun run check

Requirements

• Pi installed and configured
• Current Pi model set to gpt-5.5+
• Existing Codex/ChatGPT subscription auth in Pi
• Bun for local development

Security

Pi extensions run with your full system permissions. Review extension source before installing or sharing.

License

MIT